A typical hammer drill comprises a body in which is mounted an electric motor and a hammer mechanism. A tool holder is mounted on the front of the body which holds a cutting tool, such as a drill bit or a chisel. The hammer mechanism typically comprises a ram, slideably mounted in a cylinder, reciprocatingly driven by a piston via an air spring, the piston being reciprocatingly driven by the motor via a set of gears and a crank mechanism or wobble bearing. The ram in turn repeatedly strikes the end of the cutting tool via a beat piece. When the only action on the tool bit is the repetitive striking of its end by the beat piece, the hammer drill is operating in a hammer only mode.
Certain types of hammer drill also comprise a rotary drive mechanism which enables the tool holder to rotatingly drive the cutting tool held within the tool holder. In such constructions, the cylinder is the form of a rotatable spindle. This can be in addition to the repetitive striking of the end of the cutting tool by the beat piece (in which case, the hammer drill is operating in a hammer and drill mode) or as an alternative to the repetitive striking of the end of the cutting tool by the beat piece by switching off the hammer mechanism (in which case, the hammer drill is operating in a drill only mode).
EP1157788 discloses such a hammer drill.
During the operation of a hammer either in hammer only mode or in hammer and drill mode, when the cutting tool held by the tool holder is pressed against a work piece to cut the work piece, the reciprocating piston, driven by the motor, reciprocatingly drives the ram in order to repetitively strike the beat piece which in turn strikes the end of a cutting tool to cause the cutting tool to strike the work piece. When the cutting tool is removed from the work piece whilst the hammer drill is still activated, the piston continues to be reciprocatingly driven by the motor. However, it desirable to stop the ram from continuing to repetitively strike the beat piece as it will result in damaging the support structure for the beat piece and/or tool holder as the energy of the impacts are no longer being absorbed by the work piece.
One way of achieving this is to provide a ram catcher. US20090277659 describes such a ram catcher.
The beat piece of a hammer is mounted in a beat piece support structure which can be the cylinder or within a support structure mounted either within the cylinder or directly in the housing of the hammer, or a combination of these.
A prior art design of a hammer mechanism will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.
Referring to FIG. 1, a hammer drill comprises a body 2 having a rear handle 4 moveably mounted to the rear of the body 2. The rear handle 4 comprises a centre grip section 90 and two end connection sections 92; 94, one end connection section being attached to one end of the centre grip section, the other end connection section being connected to the other end of the centre grip section. The handle 4 is connected to the rear of the body 2 by the two end connection sections 92, 94. The rear handle is constructed from a plastic clam shell 100 and a rear end cap 102 which is attached to the clam shell 100 using screws (not shown). The rear of the body is formed by three plastic clam shells 6, 70, 72 which attach to each other and to the remainder of the body 2 using screws (not shown).
An SDS tool holder 8 is mounted onto the front 10 of the body 2. The tool holder can hold a cutting tool 12, such as a drill bit. A motor (shown generally by dashed lines 48) is mounted within the body 2 which is powered by a mains electricity supply via a cable 14. A trigger switch 16 is mounted on the rear handle 4. Depression of the trigger switch 16 activates the motor in the normal manner. The motor drives a hammer mechanism (shown generally by dashed lines 46 in FIG. 1), which comprises a piston 204 reciprocatingly driven by the motor via a crank shaft 206 within a spindle 150, which in turn reciprocatingly drives a ram 152 via an air spring 170 which in turn strikes, via a beat piece 156, the end of the cutting tool 12. The motor can rotationally drive the spindle 150 via a bevel gear 200 and torque clutch 202. A mode change mechanism (not shown) can switch the hammer drill between three modes of operation, namely hammer only mode, drill only mode or hammer and drill mode. A rotatable knob 18 is mounted on the top of the body 2. Rotation of the knob 18 changes the mode of operation of the hammer drill in well known manner.
Referring to the FIG. 2, the spindle 150 has a longitudinal axis 154. In side of the spindle 150 is located the ram 152, forward of the piston 204, a beat piece 156, forward of the ram 152, a ram catcher located between the ram 152 and the beat piece 156 and a beat piece support structure.
The forward end 162 of the spindle 150 forms part of the tool holder 8. During normal use, the cutting tool 12 (shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2) is held within the forward end 162 of the spindle 50 by the tool holder. The cutting tool 12 is prevented from rotating relative to the spindle 50 whilst being capable of moving axially over a limited range of movement within the forward end 162 of the spindle 150 in well known manner.
The piston 204 is mounted directly in the rear of the spindle 150 and comprises an O ring 208 which locates in a groove formed around the main body of the piston and which provides an air tight seal between the piston and the inner wall of the spindle 150.
The ram 152 is mounted directly in the spindle 150 and comprises a main body 166 attached to an end cap 160, via a neck 168, of smaller diameter than the main body 166 of the ram 152, located at the forward end of the ram 152. The ram is circular in cross section in any plane which extends perpendicularly from the longitudinal axis 154 (which is co-axial with the longitudinal axis of the spindle 150 when the ram is located inside of the spindle) of the ram 152 along its length. The ram 152 comprises an O ring 158 which locates in a groove formed around the main body 166 of the ram and which provides an air tight seal between the ram 152 and the inner wall of the spindle 150. During normal operation of the hammer, the ram 152 is reciprocatingly driven by the piston 204 via an air spring 170 formed between the piston 204 and ram 152 in well known manner along the longitudinal axis 154. The air spring 170 between the ram 152 and the piston 204 is maintained by the air in the air spring 170 being prevented from escaping from (or air external of the air spring entering into) the space between the piston 204 and ram 152 due to the two O rings 208, 158.
The ram catcher comprises a rubber ring 214 which locates against the inner wall of the spindle 150 and is axially held in position inside of the spindle by being sandwiched between a ring retainer, comprising a circlip 216 and metal washer 218, and a metal tubular insert 210 of the beat piece support structure, both being located inside of the spindle 150. The rubber ring 214 provides a lip which projects radially inwardly into spindle 150 towards the longitudinal axis 154. The diameter of the aperture formed by the rubber ring 214 is less than that of the end cap 160 of the ram
152 but similar to that of the neck 168 of the ram 152. A series of holes 220 are formed around the circumference of the spindle rearward of the circlip 216 which each extend through the wall of the spindle 150.
During the normal operation of the hammer drill, when the cutting tool is engaged with a work piece, the ram 152 is reciprocatingly driven over a range of axial positions (one of which is shown in FIG. 2) inside of the spindle located to the rear of the ram catcher, the ram 152 being prevented from engaging the ram catcher due to the position of the beat piece 156. The ring 214 has no contact with any part of the ram 152 during the normal operation of the tool. When the ram 152 is able to move forward, due to the position of the beat piece, the end cap 160 engages with the rubber ring 214 and passes through the aperture due to the ring deforming, allowing the lip to flex to enable the cap 160 to pass through it. Once the cap 160 has passed through the ring 214, the lip returns to its original shape, locating in the neck 168 of the ram to hold the ram 152 stationary (as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4).
The beat piece 156 is supported by a beat piece support structure formed in part by the spindle 150 and in part by a support structure inside the spindle 150 comprising a metal tubular insert 210 sandwiched between an O ring 212 and the rubber ring 214 of the ram catcher. The beat piece 156 is circular in cross section in any plane which extends perpendicularly from the longitudinal axis 154 (which is co-axial with the longitudinal axis of the spindle 150 when the beat piece is located inside of the spindle) of the beat piece 156 along its length, the centre of the circular cross section being located on the longitudinal axis.
The beat piece 156 comprises a middle section 172, a front section 174 and a rear section 176.
The middle section 172 has a uniform diametered circular cross section along its length, the centre of the circular cross section being located on the longitudinal axis 154.
The rear section 176 has a uniform diametered circular cross section along its length, the centre of the circular cross section being located on the longitudinal axis 154. The rear end 240 of the rear section 176 is flat and is impacted by the cap 160 of the ram 152 during normal operation. The rear section 176 is joined to the middle section 172 via a first angled region 242. The first angled region 242 engages with a correspondingly shaped first angled shoulder 244 formed on the metal insert 210 located inside the spindle when the beat piece is in its most rearward position, limiting the amount of rearward movement of the beat piece 156. The wall of the angled shoulder 244 is circular in cross section in any plane which extends perpendicularly from the longitudinal axis 154 of the spindle 150, the centre of the circular cross section being located on the longitudinal axis. When the first angled region 242 is in engagement with the first angled shoulder 244, there is a uniform amount of contact between the two surfaces around the longitudinal axis 154.
The front section 174 is frusto conical in shape centred around the longitudinal axis 154 of the beat piece 156. The front end 246 of the front section 174 is flat and impacts the cutting tool 12 during normal operation. The front section 174 is joined to the middle section 172 via a second angled region 248 which is frusto conical in shape centred around the longitudinal axis 154 of the beat piece 156. The second angled region 248 engages with a correspondingly shaped second angled shoulder 250 formed on the inner wall of the spindle 150 when the beat piece is in its most forward position, limiting the amount of forward movement of the beat piece 156. The wall of the second angled shoulder 250 is circular in cross section in any plane which extends perpendicularly from the longitudinal axis 154 of the spindle 150, the centre of the circular cross section being located on the longitudinal axis 154. When the second angled region 248 is in engagement with the second angled shoulder 250, there is a uniform amount of contact between the two surfaces around the longitudinal axis 154.
When the hammer drill is operating in the normal manner with the cutting tool 12 cutting a work piece, the ram strikes the beat piece 156 which in turn strikes the end of cutting tool 12 in the tool holder 8. The ram 152 is reciprocatingly driven over a limited range of axial movement within the spindle, the maximum distance from the piston being limited by the position of the beat piece 156 which it impacts, the position of which in turn is controlled by the end of the cutting tool 12. Whilst traveling within this range of axial movement, the O ring 158 of the ram 152 does not pass the holes 220. As such, the air spring 170 between the piston 204 and ram 152 is maintained. The rear section 176 projects rearwardly through the aperture of the ring 214 of the ram catcher, to enable the cap 160 of the ram 152 to strike it as shown in FIG. 2.
When the cutting tool 12 is removed from the work piece, the beat piece 156 is able to move forward as the cutting tool 12 can extend out of the tool holder 8 to its maximum position. If the motor is still running, the piston 204 is able to drive the ram 152 via the air spring 170 further along the spindle 150, as the beat piece 156 can move forward, passing the air holes 220. Once the O ring 158 of the ram 152 has passed the air holes 220, the air is able to freely pass into and out of the spindle 150 in the space between the piston 204 and ram 152, causing the air spring 170 to be broken and thus disconnecting the drive between the piston 204 and ram 152. As the air spring 170 is broken, the ram 152 is able freely continue to travel along the length of the spindle 150. The ram 152 engages with the ram catcher, the cap 160 passing through the ring 214 allowing the neck 168 to engage with the ring, to secure the ram in the ram catcher, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The reciprocating movement of the piston 204 has no effect on the ram 152 as the air spring 170 is broken due to the holes 220 which allow air in and out of the spindle 170 in the space between the piston 204 and ram 152. The beat piece 156 is pushed forward in the spindle 150 by the ram 152 in the ram catcher. In order to release the ram 152 from the ram catcher, the cutting tool 12 is pressed against a work piece causing it to be pushed into the tool holder 8, which in turn pushes the beat piece 156 rearwardly into engagement with the cap 160 of the ram 152, pushing it out of the ram catcher and past the holes 220. In such a position, the air spring 170 is reformed and the piston 204 is able to reciprocatingly drive the ram 152 again.
However, such a design suffers from a problem. When the ram 152 engages with the ram catcher, it pushes the beat piece 156 forward (see FIG. 3). The beat piece 156 travels to its furthest forward position (see FIG. 4) where the second angled region 248 engages with the second angled shoulder 250. However, upon engagement, the beat piece 156 is still traveling at speed and therefore, the second angled region 248 rebounds off the second angled shoulder 250. As there is a uniform amount of contact between the two surfaces around the longitudinal axis 154, the majority of the force within the rebound is in the same direction as the longitudinal axis 154 of the spindle 150, resulting the beat piece 156 traveling back towards and into engagement with the cap 160 of the ram 152. Such is the force of the impact of the beat piece on the cap 160 of ram 160, the cap 160 is pushed back through the ring 214, disengaging the ram 152 from the ram catcher and causing it to travel towards the piston 204, the O ring passing the holes 220 as it does so. This restores the air spring 170 and causes the ram to be reciprocatingly driven again by the piston 204.